Homeschooled Children’s Social Skills
The social skills scores of the homeschooled were consistently higher than those of public school students. “Differences were most marked for girls and for older children, and encompassed all four of the specific skills tested: cooperation, assertiveness, empathy, and self-control.” Gender differences were considered and found.
Richard G. Medlin, Ph.D., 2006, Volume 17, Number 1, p. 1-8
Homeschooling as “Educational Neglect” or Neglected Research Standards?
Reviews Kelly, Barr, and Weatherby’s 2006 report entitled Educational Neglect & Compulsory Schooling: A Status Report in which they claimed that school-age children who are privately home educated and not registered with state agencies – even if the law does not require such registration – are “missing” and “educationally neglected.” Explains significant philosphical and methodological weaknesses and errors in the report.
Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., Volume 17, Number 1, p. 9-12
Some Baptists Supporting Government-Run Schools
Some Baptists are urging the support of public schools in a document entitled “A Baptist Pastoral Letter Supporting Public Education.” Their letter raises several questions regarding empirical evidence about homeschooling and about biblical rationales. Therefore, several comments on their letter are in order.
by Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., posted April 25, 2006
A Brief Review of “Educational Neglect & Compulsory Schooling: A Status Report”
by Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., published January 28, 2006 (revised January 30, 2006)
Parental Reasons By Grade Level
In general, younger and older homeschooled students are educated at home for the same reasons: parents believe they can provide them a better education (47%) and for religious reasons (41%). However, there are some differences in reasons according to the grade levels of the students.
Guillermo Montes, Ph.D., Volume 16, Number 4, 2006, p. 11-17
Empathy, Altruism, and Moral Development
Homschooling parents were more concerned with teaching their children their values and religious beliefs, and more convinced that their children’s education reinforced this endeavor, than public school parents. They were also more confident that their children had embraced the values encompassed in their education. The two groups of parents did not differ, however, concerning whether they wanted their children to decide for themselves what values to believe in. Compared to public school parents, home schooling parents reported slightly more prosocial behavior in their children. In general, the attitudes toward religion and values expressed by home schooling parents were positively related to children’s prosocial behavior.
Skylar T. Kingston and Richard G. Medlin, Ph.D., Volume 16, No. 4, 2006, p. 1-10